Big In Japan

The rock and roll stage antics of Brisbane’s Dead Riot are mind blowing, yes, but are we dealing with a band susceptible to strange events and circumstances?

Vocalist and guitarist Jai fills us in on six years of tupperware parties, bar mitzvahs, Chinese festivals and, of course, their latest; a little primetime Japanese TV acting stint.

“We got a call from a friend who said they were doing some sort of equivalent to Ripley’s ‘Believe It Or Not’. The story was about a guy who had had the hiccups for three years, and they were looking for a punk rock band to act and perform in the shoot.

“We ended up having to do some very b-grade acting. What we had to do was pretend we were kicking this guy out of the band, because he couldn’t get rid of his hiccups. It’s just hilarious, and it all ended up being overdubbed in Japanese.”

Over the years Dead Riot have made it clear that their music is all about escaping from the mundane routine of life, enjoying things and essentially having a bit of a party.

Fortune has from time to time led the band to landing certain gigs, forcing them to question why exactly it is they have been booked.

“This band, I don’t know what it is about it, but we just get asked to play some seriously weird stuff … this one time we played at something called the Dragon Boat Festival. We had no idea what to expect, we just wanted to go out and have a bit of fun.

“So we get there and it’s set up in a room, like an office, and there are lots of elderly people sitting around, kind of like what you’d expect to see at a conference. And it’s all in support of a Chinese Holiday.”

After a quick chat with the event organiser and an even quicker band meeting (held at the nearest pub), Dead Riot decided to just do their thing.

“We went hell bent for leather, ripped it up, and they loved it. We were just not expecting that reaction. After the first song it was nuts, people were screaming. At the end of it we felt like famous stars, signing CDs and everything.”

While originally starting out with punk and activist roots, their sound has grown into more energetic and hip-shaking rock.

“We’ve realised that the most activist thing you can do is provide people with an outlet for getting out of what’s going on in their lives and giving them a good time. This is more activist than telling everyone about all the world’s problems. Besides, we live in Australia, it kicks ass, why not celebrate that?”

Dead Riot will be celebrating on a whole new and exciting level in early October when, along with 150 other local acts, they take to Ivory’s Rock for BAM! Festival.

As the newest festival in South East Queensland, organisers have teed up three days and nights of non-stop entertainment, with the performing artists spread across five separate stages.

“It's 24-hours, which I think is a bit different, and I always enjoy playing outside, festivals are generally pretty fun.

“I really enjoy the shows where you’re not put up with the same genre type of bands, and you really have to work to get the crowd on your side and liking what you do. I really like those sorts of shows because it’s a challenge and also you open peoples’ minds up to something new, if you’re doing it well.”

Dead Riot play as one of the headlining acts at BAM! Festival. A music festival spanning over three day and three nights, BAM! runs from 3pm Friday October 8 until 230am Monday October 11 at Ivory’s Rock.